A Note about the shipping traffic

The Santa Barbara channel (the body of water between the islands and the mainland) is one of the busiest shipping areas in California. Shipping traffic is not a trivial threat while paddling! These ships are often moving at 25-30 knots and may be using little other than radar to look out for other boats. Fog is the most dangerous condition to encounter shipping. I would not recommend it. Night is I think not all that bad as these boats are usually lit up like a giant christmas tree. In any case check the nautical charts of anyplace you are going to see if there are any major shipping lanes in the area.